1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a gateway device, more particularly to a method for providing a network map through the gateway device, which is configured with an icon list for storing a plurality of icons each corresponding to a specific network device type, and is able to search for all active or passive network devices that the gateway device currently connects to and convert the icons thus read and the basic data of each network device found into a web page message for creating a network device map web page, thereby assisting a user in managing peripheral network devices,
2. Description of Related Art
With the advancement of network transmission technology and due to the rapid growth of and the various value-added services provided by commercial Internet service providers (ISPs), people nowadays are familiar with and accustomed to using all kinds of network applications such as World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail (e-mail), file transfer via the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), the Bulletin Board System (BBS), and remote terminal emulation (e.g., Telnet). Many schools and companies have also begun providing distance education programs or holding transnational meetings through video conference.
Indeed, the dynamic development of Internet applications has connected people's working modes, friend-making activities, and hobby cultivation closely to the Internet. In order to satisfy the need to make Internet connection from different locations, a variety of network devices were designed and are now commercially available, such as desktop computers and laptop computers that are configured for wired connection; smart phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are configured for wireless connection; and access points, switches, hubs, and routers that are used to construct a local network environment. Apart from that, many non-network devices can be additionally provided with network interface cards so as to be shared by many people via network connection; some common examples of such modified devices are network printers and network scanners. The aforementioned network devices, though capable of Internet connection and providing various convenient services, have their shortcomings. Take a home network system composed of a plurality of network devices for example. The number of the network devices may be so large that it is unlikely for the user to know exactly how many network devices there are in the current network environment. This not only causes difficulty in management, but also prevents the user from rapidly locating any malfunctioning network device (e.g., a network device that cannot make Internet connection). In fact, the malfunctioning network device cannot be identified until it is actually used, which can be a serious problem if the user has to connect to the Internet using that particular network device at the very moment.
Furthermore, it is now common practice to use a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) router to connect a plurality of network devices in a home network to the external Internet. If the parents decide to block certain websites whose contents are considered inappropriate for their children, the addresses of such websites can be added to a blacklist of the DSL router. A “blacklist” is a list that is stored in a network device, stores a plurality of user-input website addresses, and functions in such a way that, if an attempt is made to connect the network device to any of the websites in the blacklist, the network device will automatically deny such connection. However, once a blacklist is created in the DSL router, all the network devices that depend on the DSL router to connect to the Internet are kept from visiting the websites in the blacklist. If the parents, as required by work, have to visit one of those websites, it is necessary to remove the website from the blacklist and, after visit, put the website back into the blacklist. The foregoing process, in addition to being inconvenient in itself, substantially limits and restricts the time window in which the parents can visit the websites in the blacklist, for the removal of websites from the blacklist can only be done when the children are asleep or at school so as to prevent the children from accessing those websites at the same time.
If it is desired to create a blacklist only in certain network devices or to set the Internet access time limit of certain network devices (e.g., the children's computers are allowed Internet access only from 8 am to 9 pm on Saturdays, or a network printer is available over the network only from 5 pm through 11 pm), the user must install specific management software into the target network devices according to their respective network device types and set each and every target network device. When the settings need to be changed at a later time, the target network devices must be reset one after another, which is extremely inconvenient. If the network system includes so many network devices or if the setting was done so long ago that the user cannot be sure which network device has been set or what has been set, the only way to figure it out is to check each network device for its settings, which is unfavorable to management.
Besides, most of the network device management software nowadays needs to be additionally installed from CDs, and the management interface is typically shown in text. The text-based management interface not only is user-unfriendly in terms of viewing, but also may include network device-related jargons that are very likely to deter the user from performing the setting procedure or require the user to consult the manufacturer of the intended network device in order not to set the unintended network devices by accident. Therefore, if a more convenient management method is developed and made available to the public, it will no doubt be rapidly adopted by users and effectively take a strong market share in the network industry. The issue to be addressed by the present invention is to design a management interface that is easy to view, enables convenient management, and thereby overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.